Arctic Circle
by Holy Spork
Summary: [AU] It was just a date. That was all it was supposed to be. But then the Erasers came to play...
1. Project Sixteen

First Max Ride fic, and my first AU ever. 'Nuff said.

Basically, Max and Sam are on their date, and then Bad Things happen... I'll leave the rest to the actual story now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or its characters. James Patterson does.

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Prologue: Project Sixteen

The van sat in the parking lot like a fat black beetle too lazy to move. It was out of place among the others colorful cars that shared the parking lot with it. But then, its occupants were far from normal themselves. Inside the van sat what looked like seven male supermodels. Muscular and lean, they stared out of the windows with a predator's sharp gaze. The only female in the car was a blonde of about fourteen sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the heavily tinted windows looking very bored. The model in the front seat had an earpiece in his right ear, and was listening intently to what the little voice had to say.

"_Don't attack Maximum just yet Ari_," said the voice of the whitecoat, a scientist, at the other end of the line. His voice was, as clear as if the whitecoat were in the van with the models, "_We can't risk scaring her away just yet. We need her right where she is. This is just to make her a little bit uncomfortable. We can't let Maximum forget that she's on the run._"

The one in the driver's seat, Ari, literally growled like a dog, "You had no problems asking us to attack them before!" he snapped, canines lengthening unnaturally like taffy being stretched on a candy maker, "And now you're just telling us to sit on our hands like good little doggies!"

"_These orders come right from the Director,_" said the whitecoat, "_You have no authority to challenge them. Just take Max II and walk outside the window so Maximum can see you. That's all. You and all of your Erasers will get your chance for a hunt later. Just have a little patience for once._"

One of the others in the back, an Eraser, noticed something inside the ice cream shop. He was _extremely_ old by Eraser standards. He was about thirteen years old, but his age had not yet had any adverse effects on his powers. His age was irrelevant to the whitecoats anyway. Erasers were used as attack dogs until the day they died some horrible death when their very genes began to break down. It was only because he was so old, that he was able to realize something. As he looked through the van window, and into the ice cream shop he noticed that the blonde they were chasing, Maximum Ride, was with someone else he recognized. It was her date that interested him now, not just his prey. A boy about her age with chestnut brown hair, whose face struck a cord like a familiar piece of music almost forgotten in the old Eraser's memory…

"There's someone with Maximum Ride," said the older Eraser.

"Well _duh_!" spat Ari maliciously at the old Eraser, his lips pulled back in a snarl, "It's her stupid date!"

"No, I remember him from the Institute!" insisted the old Eraser, "I think he's Project Sixteen!"

"…What?" said Ari thickly, his head cocked to one side like a confused pigeon, "What the _heck_ is Project Sixteen?"

"_What's going on?_" asked the whitecoat in Ari's ear.

"Nothing," he said sharply as he settled grumpily back down into his seat, "Old David says he sees 'Project Sixteen' with Max or something like that."

The whitecoat gasped, "_Is David sure of this?_"

"What? I thought we were after Max!"

"_Is David SURE OF THIS?_" yelled the whitecoat loud enough to make Ari flinch. Ari turned to the old Eraser, David with a sneer on his face.

"You sure this punk with Max is your Project Sixteen?" he asked piercingly. The blonde sitting in the front seat looked at David too, now interested in the proceedings.

The old Eraser, David, nodded, "Without a doubt," he said, confidently, "I saw him before, but then he was really, really young. But there's no doubt now! I'm _sure_ it's him!"

The whitecoat must have heard this statement through Ari's earpiece, because he gasped again, "_This is… impossible!_" said the whitecoat, incredulously, "_But there will be no change of plan. Ari, just let Maximum see you and Max II, nothing else! Do nothing, I repeat, _nothing,_ about Project Sixteen until we can confirm that he's even alive._"

Ari growled again, little hairs beginning to grow on his face, neck and hands like a crop of plants growing in fast forward. He wanted Max for himself, he didn't just want to let her _see_ him! He wanted her! He even had plans for what he would do once he had her in his possession. He was going to take her away to a safe place where no one would find them, ever. And now there was this _other_ thing the whitecoats wanted! Surely it would be _better_ if Ari and his Erasers just ran right into the ice cream shop and captured Max and her little buddy? Isn't that what they wanted? Ari was beginning to get tired of their games.

"_Ari, do you understand?_" asked the whitecoat, "_Take no direct action, just let Maximum see you and Max II and that's all. Do you understand Ari?_"

_Keep your eyes on the prize, Ari,_ Said the Voice in Ari's head, and while it was perfectly emotionless, it seemed both soothing and encouraging, _Keep your eyes on the prize. There's a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow._

Ari took the earpiece out of his ear and stared at it. It was sleek and sophisticated looking, designed and built by a few scientists at the School who knew some engineering in addition to their knowledge of genetics. Ari suddenly felt that all of the problems in his life were the fault of the little device in this big hand. Then something inside Ari, the closest thing he had to self-control, snapped like a spine under a heavy boulder.

"I'm done taking orders from you!" he snapped at the earpiece, "I'm doing thing _my_ way!" Ari smashed the device against the dashboard, hearing the tiny screech as the device died. He took his hand off the dashboard to let the little ruined pieced of the earpiece fall to the floor of the van like silicon rain. In the passenger seat, Max II smiled wickedly at she watched Ari and the other Erasers begin to morph, their bodies rippling and shifting gruesomely. Hair sprouted all over their bodies, claws grew out of fingers, and fangs lengthened, protruding from their gums like swords.

Ari was done taking orders from the whitecoats. He was going to do things _his_ way now.

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He he... This is going to be fun.

Please review. As with anything I write, I'll take anything: Good reviews, bad reviews, even flames. But please review, I like to know how I'm doing.

Thanks.


	2. Fox Hunt

People are reading this story... cool. That's nice to know.

Quick note: P.O.V. wise, this story is going to be like the book: The first person segments will be from Max's P.O.V., but there will be some third person parts. Just so no one gets confused.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. She probably wouldn't like it if I did.

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Chapter I: Fox Hunt

Sam and I sat in the Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe at a black and white marble-topped table. We both had sundaes oozing with hot fudge; he even gave me his maraschino cherry. Other people were examining the ice cream flavors available, trying to decide what to get. Others had already bought theirs, (paid at the register), and were sitting at tables similar to ours scattered around the shop. They talked, laughed, and ate ice cream. As I sat here I felt almost normal. Me, Maximum Ride, the bird-kid with giant hawk wings sprouting out of my shoulders, felt _normal_. I grew up in a dog crate as a freak lab experiment, and I felt _normal_! I could get used to this.

"Mom will try to keep Aunt Phyllis away from the liquor, but it won't work," said Sam, he was describing to me what his Thanksgiving would probably be like, "Dad will be trying to watch the football game, so he'll be shouting at the TV and spilling corn nuts on the carpet." He shrugged, as if in apology for this dysfunctional family.

"Sounds pretty bad," I said, wondering what a _real_ Thanksgiving was like. I'd only ever seen that kind of stuff in TV. One of the disadvantages of being a lab experiment was that you don't get out much.

Sam shrugged again, almost as if he was trying to say, 'I'm used to it'. "It'll suck," said Sam, so gloomily I expected to see a little black cloud appear over his head and rain down on him, "But then it'll all be over, and then I'll have four weeks to brace myself-"

Turns out we didn't even have that much time. All the windows of the shop shattered like a broken promise as about a dozen Erasers jumped in, almost fully morphed. Their bodies were covered in dark fur, and long fangs protruding from their gums like… well… fangs. Some had huge dark wings extended, apparently trying to look like the lupine angel of death. It worked. The people in the shop screamed as if they were on fire, and scattered like small woodland animals. This included Sam, who looked petrified at the sight of the monstrous Erasers. "W… what the hell?" he said, backing into the table we had been sitting at as an Eraser bore down on him, fangs bared menacingly.

I had just enough time to register all of this as something slammed into my back like a train and threw me onto the top of the table, pinning me down with its incredible weight.

"Hi there Max," whispered the horribly familiar voice of Ari into my ear. I could feel his hot breath on the side of my head, like the breath of a dragon just before it spits fire, "You're not getting away this time. You don't have your precious _flock_ to save you now."

"Don't think you're getting away either," said the other Eraser to Sam, grabbing him by the neck as if attempting to strangle him, "I know some people back at the Institute who'll be very happy to see you again."

_W… what_... I thought dully through the pain of Ari sitting on my back, _What do they want with Sam of all people?_ I writhed and struggled against Ari's hold, but only in vain. I couldn't get a kick or a punch in with the lump on my back. I couldn't even unfold my wings with him sitting on me. I wriggled and writhed some more, and utterly failed to get Ari off of my back. There was a loud yelp and suddenly the weight on my back lifted. I spun around to see Sam sitting on Ari's chest, punching the Eraser's muzzle as if trying to knock all his teeth out.

"You… keep… your…hands… off… of… HER!" shouted Sam at Ari, accenting every word with another hard blow. It turned to see that the Eraser who had tried to strangle Sam was trying to pull his head out from the marble table with little success. I was starting to see Sam in a new light.

Ari snarled and swiped at Sam with his claws, leaving five dark red lines across his chest. Sam didn't appear to notice, but kept right on punching Ari. I didn't have enough time to contemplate this, as another Eraser ran at me like a charging bull. His jaws were open and saliva dripped from his fangs like water from stalactites. I punched him on the nose before kicking him on the chest, sending him reeling a few feet before coming back on the rebound. An uppercut and a slap on the ears finally took the Eraser down. It was then that I heard the sirens whining in the distance like yowling cats. The cops were coming. It was time to go. I didn't want to be here with the Erasers when the fuzz arrived.

Sam seemed to have realized this at the same time, because he jumped off of Ari's chest and ran after me out of the ice cream shop. I only vaguely realized that he was following me. At the time I didn't care. He had saved my life, as painful as it is to admit, and he was the least of my problems now. At least I could take care of him later. The ice cream shop had been in the middle of a populated area so flying was out of the question. There might be more Erasers nearby, and if I flew they might follow me back to Anne's home, where the rest of the flock was. I couldn't let that happen.

I ran through the crowds of people who stared back at me. They probably thought I was running from something, which I was admittedly. "This way!" shouted a voice behind me. I turned to see Sam pointing to a Chinese buffet restaurant to our right. He waved a desperate beckoning hand at me, apparently forgetting that his shirt was torn and he was bleeding. I don't know why I followed him, maybe because he seemed to know what he was doing. Following wasn't something I normally did, or _liked_ doing. As it turns out Sam wasn't going to go inside the restaurant, but behind it with the trashcans where so we would be out of sight.

We sat down with our backs leaning against the back of the restaurant. We panted heavily like dogs until we got some of our breath back from wherever it went. "Max," panted Sam, "What do the pencil-men want with you?"

I turned to look at Sam, "What?" I said, confusion in my voice, "'Pencil-men'?"

"The Erasers," said Sam matter-of-factly, "You know… Erasers… like erasers on the ends of pencils?"

This would have been funny if we hadn't just run for our lives from the 'pencil-men', "How do you even know what Erasers are?" I asked, "You're just average Joe… average Sam really… But you shouldn't know any of this."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah?" he said, "I know about the Erasers, and I know what they want with me. But what could they possibly want with _you_?"

"You've got a family!" I spouted suddenly, "You were raised by your parents! You didn't grow up in a dog crate! You're not one of their experiments! What could they possibly want with you?"

Sam blinked, surprised by my outburst. "I thought I'd mentioned it sometime before," said Sam, bewildered, "I was adopted."

"Oh…" I started, "You're… adopted." This was news to me. "But that still doesn't answer my question!" I said, annoyance spread up through my body like plant roots growing upside down as I spoke, "You're still not one of their experiments!"

"Neither are you!" retorted Sam, "So what could they want with you? You're the daughter of missionaries are you? God only knows what they want with you. Literally."

I sighed, "How about this," I said, coming up with a compromise, "You tell me why they're after you, and then I'll tell you why they're after me."

"No way," said Sam stubbornly, "You first."

"No, you first,"

"No you."

"You first."

"You first."

"You go!"

"No, you go!"

"Go on!"

"Look, I've got a coin in my pocket!" said Sam, pulling a little penny out of his jeans pocket like a magician, "We'll flip. Heads you first, tails I go first." He flipped the coin. We watched it spin in the air like an Olympic diver before they fall into the water. The coin landed on the pavement we were sitting on with a faint metallic _clink_. We looked down at the coin.

Heads.

I stared at Lincoln's bronze face trying to make sure my eyes were working properly. I picked up the coin and examined it. I was a real penny, with a head _and_ a tail. I hadn't been cheated. "Fair is fair," said Sam smugly, crossing his arms across his chest, "You first."

I sighed, still feeling cheated even though it _had_ been a real penny. "Fine," I moaned. I unzipped my jacket and let it fall away. I extended my hawk wings just a little, so Sam could see them in all their feathery glory. Sam's eyes widened in surprise and… awe? Now _there_ was something I wasn't used to.

"Wow…" he said, his eyes wider than the lids of the nearby trashcans, "That's amazing! Can you fly with those?"

I nodded, "Yup," I said, feeling a little proud despite everything, "I can fly. My bone structure and respiratory system are more like those of a bird than a human, so I can fly. That's why the Erasers want me," I added, "Me and some others like me ran away from this place called the 'School'. We were the subjects of an experiment there. The whitecoats there grafted bird DNA onto our human DNA. We all ended up with different bird DNA. I ended up with hawk DNA. We don't know who our parents are, that's partly why we escaped, so we can find out who our parents are. And to get away from the whitecoats who were _obviously_ experimenting on us."

Sam stared, probably unaware that he was staring at all. "That's amazing!" he blurted again. I was surprised by his reaction. I expected something more along the lines of 'You're a freak!' But then if Sam _was_ one of their experiments then he might have gone through the same thing. Either way, it was a nice change of pace. I wouldn't mind being a mutant freak if people didn't shout that in the streets, and rather stared in awe.

I cross my arms across my chest, folding my wings a little, but enough that I could still take off quickly if I absolutely had to. "You're turn now," I said grinning, "Why are you running from the Erasers? And how come you have a family?"

"Turn around."

The order came as a surprise to me. I blinked, "No," I said, defiantly, spreading out my wings a little to try to get my point across, "Why should I?"

Sam blushed, "I want to show you something," he said sheepishly, "Would closing your eyes for a minute make you feel better?" I scowled, wondering what was going through his mind. But I wanted answers, and I wanted them _now_, so I closed my eyes. I strained to hear the noise of running feet, but heard instead onto the faint rustling of cloth. "You can open your eyes now." I opened my eyes to see Sam holding something white and fuzzy in his left hand.

I stared at it, trying to figure out what it was. Then Sam stood up, let the fuzzy thing go, and turned around. Then I figured it out. "You have a tail!" I blurted thickly. Well _duh_ it was a tail. Nothing else white and fuzzy could hang from a butt quite like that.

"Yeah," said Sam, he shruged, and sat back down with his tail lying at his side like a pet dog, "I got some arctic fox DNA grafted to my human DNA, like you and your bird DNA. So I got a tail."

"Why an _arctic_ fox?" I asked.

Sam shrugged, "Why a _hawk_?"

"How'd you end up with a family then?" I asked, "Well, you were adopted, but then how'd you escape, why do they want you so bad, and-"

"There they are!"

Sam and I turned around to see half a dozen Erasers, lead by none other than Ari with blood dripping down his muzzle. This time they weren't going to fool around with scare tactics. These Erasers had guns, and were pointing them right at us.

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Cliffhanger! I'm known for horrible cliffhangers. I'm also known for enjoying horrible cliffhangers.

Please review.


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